The Elf
by magelet
Summary: I think I'll be changing the title later on ... it was the only thing I could think of at this point in time. I rated it PG just to be safe, I don't think it was necessary though. this chapter contains a bit of a cliffhanger but i don't think it's that


1 Chapter 1  
  
Disclaimer: Anything I own, I own. Anything I don't, I don't.  
  
The Market Place.  
  
No one noticed the small, red-haired girl, slip quietly into the market place. She was of sixteen years, however, she would have been quite easily mistaken for a much younger age as she was so tiny. Her hands and feet were very small and her body very slim. All in all, she looked at least 12 or 13 years old. Her eyes were a shade of violet and pixie shaped and her hair was a dark red and reached to just below her shoulders. Her ears were slightly pointy and she had a very small nose and a very small small mouth. She was wearing forest green pants (which could have almost been leggings as they were tight enough) and a large leaf green shirt, which was made out of a very soft material. Her robe was the same colour as her pants but the material was different. It was made of a soft, bewitched cotton with kept her cool in summer and warm in winter. Her boots were made of a soft leather, which made no noise when she walked, and they seemed to fit her feet perfectly. She was very nimble on her feet and her body very agile, very came in handy when wanting to escape if the need for it arose. Which, might I inform you, happened quite often. She was a thief. And a good one too at that.  
  
She had just slipped into a common wizarding market place and she now stood there, eyes filled with wonder at what she saw. There were tables all over the place and behind each table, a witch or wizard. Every where she looked, she could see things that she had only dreamed about. Now was her chance to make her dreams come true and she was most certainly not going to waste it. She decided a nice apple would start her off and she set off in search of a table that might provide her. As she walked along, she saw more and more things and she began to chide herself for not having brought a bag to put all her goodies in.  
  
Oh, if only I'd brought someone to share this with she thought. Then we'd be able to steal even more stuff. Suddenly she heard someone shouting, "Apples! Nice juicy apples for sale! Buy two get one free! Grapes! Grapes for sale! Buy three bags of five get two more bags half-price! Watermelon! Watermelon for sale! Nice juicy, seedless watermelon for sale! Fruit! Get a whole basket full of fruit for half-price! Come and get it before it runs out!"  
  
She looked up and saw, just a few tables down, a women leaning forward yelling for customers. And she had apples. Perfect! She made her way over there and waited till a customer arrived. She needed have waited long for just seconds after she got there, a woman with three young, hyperactive children arrived. She looked extremely tired, but then again, if you've been walking through a busy market with three, hyperactive children, obviously you'd be very haggard.  
  
"You said you had some nice juicy apples? Buy two get one free?"  
  
"Yes indeed ma'am. They're right here," said the fruit lady as she gestured towards a basket full to the brim with juicy, red apples." (A/N: I happen to like red apples, my apologies to those of you who prefer green ones.)  
  
The eavesdropper (a.k.a. the little girl who's a thief), looked at the apples and grinned.  
  
"Could I please have three. How much is each one?" asked the mother.  
  
"Five sickles." (A/N: sorry if that sounds expensive but I have no idea of how much they should be. 'Five sickles' just had a nice ring to it.) The fruit lady replied as she removed three apples from the basket and placed on the table in front of her customer. She held her hand out for the money.  
  
The customer (A/N: I'm calling her 'the mother' from on and I'll call the 'eavesdropper' the 'thief' unless otherwise.) dug in her purse and removed ten sickles. The thief took her chance as the mother handed the fruit lady the money and grabbed one of the apples from the table. The three children were so intent with watching their mother pay that they didn't see this happen, or so she thought. The thief turned around and walked away, happily munching away. She heard the voice in the distant.  
  
"Mummy? Where's mine?"  
  
"Right there swe- where is it?"  
  
"Right ther- but I put it right there. Are you sure your child didn't already take it?"  
  
"My child would never do such I thing, did you maybe out it back in the basket?"  
  
"Why, I never … just because I need money doesn't mean I would stoop so low as to try and rip one of my customer's off."  
  
"Well, it certainly seems like it! I can assure you that my child did not take it!"  
  
"Well why don't you ask her?"  
  
"How dare you insult my daughter! Ripping off your customer is one thing! But blaming it on their child?! I have never encountered such … such … insolence! I would like you to hand my daughter another apple."  
  
The fruit lade gasped. "Never in my life … never in my whole entire life, have I encountered such a rude, obnoxious customer." She took an apple from the basket and shoved it at her customer. "There! Take it! And I hope I never see you at this stall again."  
  
The mother left, steam pouring out of her ears. "Don't worry children. She was just a mean old lady trying to rob me of my money."  
  
"No she wasn't mummy!" piped one of her kids. It was the one that had been accused.  
  
The mother spun around and stared her daughter straight in the eyed. "Do you mean to tell me that you did steal that apple! Because if you did I'm going to take you straight back to that fruit lady and make you apologize!"  
  
"It wasn't me Mummy. I wouldn't have had anywhere to keep it anyway. It was that girl over there!" The mother followed her daughter's pointing arm and saw a tiny girl, dressed all in green, with the exception of her boots, which were brown. She had dark red hair that reached just below her shoulders. It was the thief. She looked up just as the mother did saw her and their eyes met. Her eyes widened in fear as she realized what was going on and she spun around and shot off in the opposite direction. Little did she know that the mother was actually very fit. The mother told her children to make their way back to the fruit lady and that she'd meet them there. (They were old enough to find their way back). The last they saw was of their mother sprinting after the thief, yelling, "Thief! Stop! Thief! Stop that thief!" (A/N: I know, I know… I should be challenging to myself. I just thought it would be humorous to picture a supposedly tired looking mother start sprinting energetically after a little girl. Hehehe… on with the story.) The passersby took little notice of her as she went sprinting after a little girl. They'd seen at least one person go chasing after a thief each day so it was actually very common for them. The mother however, didn't know this and she only got angrier, which meant she would get more energy, which meant she would run faster, which … I think you get the idea.  
  
The thief glanced behind her and almost froze in fear. The supposedly tired mother was chasing her and gaining with every second. The thief took off again, rounded a corner and slammed into something. It didn't seem like anything hard so it couldn't have been a wall. It actually seemed like something soft … more like someone. She stumbled back, dazed, and fell to the floor. Lying there, on her side, she opened her eyes and flinched. Glaring down at her, was a man with a pale, pointed face and cold, grey eyes. His hair was silvery-blonde and he wore a smirk. Immediately she knew she was in trouble. This man did not seem like the type of person who would rescue her from of her pursuer.  
  
"Watch where you're going," he said. She shivered, but not from what he said, rather from how he said it. There was something about him she didn't like one bit and she wasn't going to stick around to find out what it was. She scrambled onto her feet, turned around and found herself face-to-face with her pursuer, who now wore a smirk as she looked down upon the tiny girl. The girl backed away and before she realized her mistake, she backed right into the man. She froze with shock, and, if possible, tensed even more when she felt his hands on her shoulders. She tried to pull away, but his grip tightened and she stood still.  
  
The mother looked up at the man. "Do you know her sir?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
She frowned. "But she doesn't look anything like you."  
  
"Did I say anything about her being my daughter?" The woman shook her head. "Thought not. She is my niece," – the girl gasped, and he tightened his grip even more – "and I was just looking for her. May I ask why you were chasing her?"  
  
"She is a thief. She stole my daughter's apple." She glared at the girl as she said the last part. "And embarrassed me."  
  
"How did she embara- never mind. I don't need to know. I can figure it out on my own."  
  
"Are you sure? She doesn't seem so fond of the idea." He frowned and looked down at the girl. Sure enough her eyes were wide with fear and he felt her trembling.  
  
"No, she doesn't seem to. Oh well," he looked up at the woman. "How much did the apple cost?"  
  
"Five sickles."  
  
He raised an eyebrow as if to say, "you chased this girl because she stole an apple worth five sickles?" Instead of voicing his thoughts though, he released one of the girl's shoulders and pulled out a pouch of money. The woman's eyes bulged at the size of the pouch and when he handed her five sickles he said, "Lets just say I have a job that pays well."  
  
The woman nodded and left. Once she was out of sight, the girl started squirming in his grip and he released her knowing what was going to happen next.  
  
When she realized he'd released her, she ducked away and ran up the street. He pulled out his wand and said, "Stupefy!" A beam of red light left his wand and hit the girl right between her shoulder blade. She dropped like a ton of bricks, to his satisfaction, and lay there, unmoving till he approached her, took her hand and apparated back to Malfoy Manor.  
  
  
  
End Chapter 1.  
  
Author's Note: So, what do you think??? It's my first Harry Potter. I a LOT of trouble trying to come up with a beginning but I did (YAY!!!). Let's just hope it doesn't turn into a load of mush. If you have any suggestions or ideas please don't hesitate to let me know. Also if you spot a grammar or spelling mistake, tell me where it is and I'll try and fix it. Sorry if this chapter is a bit short but it's a start. I just need to figure out how to put the beginning into words. And please review. A word, a sentence, a comment … anything! Just to let me know what you think and how I can (if I need) make it better. Thanx!  
  
~ magelet. 


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